LA Art Show Review

Wednesday, February 5th, 2020, was the opening night for the 25th Annual Los Angeles Art Show.

The LA Art Show creates one of the largest international art fairs in the United States providing an exciting, immersive, insider art experience to sponsors, their select guests and VIP clients. The show attracts an elite roster of national and international galleries, acclaimed artists, highly regarded curators, architects, design professionals, along with discerning collectors. This innovative, exceptional cultural environment attracts executives and board members of Southern California businesses, state, county, and municipal government representatives, as well as leaders of the region’s cultural institutions. Attendees are trendsetters, influencers, and alpha consumers, who seek and demand the newest and the best in all areas of their lives—art, design, food, technology, and travel being specific passion points.

Proceeds from the event will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for the sixth year in a row. Thanks to generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their children live. All proceeds from the sale of Patron and Vanguard tickets and 15 percent of sales of Friend tickets will go directly to the charity.

The first night was aesthetically pleasing to the pallet of the eye with the rhythmic expression from Cirque Du Soliel, live art sculpting, live painting. Each day that I visited more galleries were added, and I went to the Los Angeles Convention Center every day. There were just as many people there on opening night as it was on Sunday, February 9th. It was a lot of fun. The exhibits were a lot of sensory overloads because there were over 100 galleries in the convention center, and all of them were different. The artists and or the gallery curators were willing to talk about each exhibit; painting, video, or photograph and give more information to anyone who would listen.

Since its inception, the LA Art Show has spear-headed the rise of the city as a world-class art destination. In 2009, the convention was named as the anchor event of Los Angeles Arts Month by the City of Los Angeles, and its move to the LA Convention Center is largely credited for instigating the revival of DTLA. Over the course of its 25 years, the show has also showcased some of the most talked-about exhibitions and performances in the world. In 2010, LA Art Show launched street art into the mainstream with an exhibition featuring live painting by legends like Retna and Mear One. In 2014, LAAS premiered Venice Biennale artist Zhang Yu’s “Fingerprints” exhibition before showcasing works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. More recent editions of the LA Art Show have exhibited Lluis Barba’s “Traveller in Time: The Fragility of the Historical Memory and Political Powers,” Raphael Montañez Ortiz’ couch destruction performance, Eugenia Vargas Pereira’s “Talking Head Transmitter,” and more.

“For 25 years, LA Art Show has been raising the profile of the LA art scene, as well as bringing more and more compelling art to our market,” says LA Art Show producer Kim Martindale. “I’m excited by the clear impact this has had on our city and looking forward to expanding the show even further.”

“People are proud to buy in Los Angeles, now,” says Martindale. And for 25 years, the LA Art Show has been elevating local artists as well as connecting Angelenos to some of the biggest names in the world. Previous highlights have included performances by Raphael Montañez Ortiz, Carlos Martiel, and Sarah Trouche, the punching bags installation by Antuan Rodriguez, and many others. As the largest art fair on the Pacific Rim, the LA Art Show features the most extensive Asian arts programming in America. Last year, LAAS showcased a massive collection of ink painting that included historic and contemporary art from Japan, Korea and China. DIVERSEartLA, the most recent edition to the fair, has grown into the largest exhibition space for non-profit institutions in any art fair in the world. Previous partners featured in the 50,000 sq. ft. of donated space have included LACMA, MOLAA, CCK-Buenos Aires, MAC SALTA, Arte AI Límite, LAUNCH LA, and MUSA, Museum of the Arts of the University of Guadalajara, Mexico.

The show grows more and more every year. So in 2021, you don’t want to miss the LA Art Show. Check out this video recap of the event.